The Wall Street Journal editorial page has once again spanked Gov. Scott Walker for allegedly contemplating a settlement deal with John Doe prosecutors.

The conservative newspaper labeled Walker's response to its earlier warning shot "disingenuous" and "the oddest reaction." (Search online for "Walker's Too Clever Reply" for the new editorial.)

The Journal has crusaded against what it sees as prosecutorial overreach in the secretive Doe probe into coordination among conservative political groups and candidates in the 2012 recall elections.

One of those conservative groups, The Wisconsin Club for Growth, and its treasurer, Eric O'Keefe, filed a federal lawsuit in February against Doe special prosecutor Francis Schmitz and others contending the secret investigation violated their rights to free speech. In May, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa in Milwaukee halted the probe as he considers the group's claims.

In a Wednesday editorial, the Wall Street Journal harshly scolded Walker over the alleged settlement talks, saying that conservative groups worry that a deal would exonerate Walker while "wresting concessions" from the groups — still under investigation — that are allied with Walker.

Walker responded twice to the surprising shot from the Journal, normally a major backer of his.

The first statement, issued by Walker's campaign, appeared to deal only with the federal lawsuit, not the Doe probe being run at the state level.

"Neither Governor Walker nor his campaign committee are parties to the federal lawsuit," the campaign statement said. "This means they have no legal standing to reach a settlement or deal in their lawsuit."

That prompted the new editorial, which appeared on the Journal's website Friday.

"Sorry, that's disingenuous," the editorial said of Walker's initial response. "The 'federal lawsuit' is one brought by Mr. Walker's political allies in federal court against prosecutors who are conducting a state John Doe probe into allegedly illegal campaign coordination. Our editorial concerned Mr. Walker's willingness to settle with prosecutors over his role in the state John Doe probe. The worry is that he might settle to help his re-election campaign while throwing his allies over the side."

The same day, Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "I'm certainly not going to undermine people who share my same beliefs, and I'm certainly not going to undermine anyone's First Amendment rights. I'm frankly kind of shocked for anyone to suggest that."

"If that means he won't cut a deal that undermines his allies, we're glad to hear it," the unsigned editorial says.

It added: "The stakes in the federal lawsuit against the John Doe probe are bigger than Mr. Walker's campaign. They concern the prosecutorial machine that exists in Wisconsin, and in too many other states, to punish and limit political speech that is protected by the First Amendment. Mr. Walker can help that cause by not undercutting the federal lawsuit with a deal in state court that might let prosecutors save face."

About Dave Umhoefer

Dave Umhoefer covers local politics and government as part of the PolitiFact Wisconsin and Watchdog teams. His investigation into pension padding by Milwaukee County employees won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize.